Well....
A few years ago, I sold a total of 14 images to four different customers - taken with a little 3MP Fuji S602.* The images were for "spot use" in destination advertising and small magazine feature stories.
This one got a cover position in a small format map/hotel/restaurant guide, cropped and printed at roughly 5-1/2" x 8" (smaller than you are seeing it on your screen) with a print run of 40,000 pieces:
These are typical of my Fuji S602 images used as destination ads in the back section in either Sunset, Westways or Over 50 magazine.* Again, printed very small – spot use.* (Notice the common theme in all of these?*
)
Those first 14 made me enough to buy a pair of D70's and some new glass. This in turn allowed me to sell bigger images (including billboards) to buy a pair of D200's and more glass, which in turn.......the game goes on.
Did I tell them that I used a P&S? No, I'm a sales guy - not a good photographer!
Most of you folks produce better images than I can
I ran them through Noise Ninja and up-sized them to their specified print size at 300 dpi - and they were very happy. The whole point is that compact cameras can produce very good images!
Marc